National Anthem of India and How it came to existence?

The national anthem and national flag of the nation serve as its identity. It’s a sign of respect and pride for the countrymen. Bharat’s national anthem “Jana Gana Mana” has kept billions of people enchanted for over 100s of years. It depicts the religious and regional diversity and unity in India.

The story of Jana Gana Mana’s birth

In the year 1911, the enthralling story o formation of “Jana Gana Mana”, the national anthem of India began with the denial by the Indians to sing “God save the queen”. People of India were recharged once again to fight for ‘independence’ amid all-around movements against the Partition. Then, miraculously, Jana Gana Mana Adhinayaka Jaya Hey, came to life in a corner of Calcutta. 

Who wrote the National Anthem?

Pc: Zee news

The national anthem was written by the Nobel Prize winner Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. The anthem was first sung 107 years ago, on the 27th of December 1911 in Kolkata’s session of congress in two languages: Bengali and Hindi. The song was first intoned by Tagore’s niece, Saral Devi Chowdhurani in front of various ministers of the Indian National Congress. Later on, Aabid Ali converted it into the Urdu language. On 24th January in 1950, the constitution of independent India declared the song as the National Anthem of the country.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad while accepting the Jana Gana Mana as National Anthem stated with pride that “the composition consisting of the words and the music Jana Gana Mana is the national anthem of India, subject to such alterations in the words as the government may authorize as occasion arises; and the song Vande Matram which has played a historic part in the struggle of India’s freedom, shall be honored equally and shall have equal status with it.”

The acceptance ceremony was closed by singing the song in chorus as the national anthem for the first time at the request of the First Deputy Speaker, Madabhushi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, and was led by Purnima Banerji. Along with the national anthem “Bharat Vidhata” our national song “Vande Mataram” got recognition. Vande Matram was written by Bikramjeet Chatterjee on the 7th of November in 1876. The first two phases of which were written in Sanskrit and the rest was written in Bengali. 

English translation of the National anthem of India

Eight years later, in the year 1919, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore himself, with the help of Margaret Cousins, translated the national anthem into English as the morning song of India. On the request of our former president Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the National anthem was sung by Herbet Murill with the orchestra.

Before it’s acceptance as the national anthem, the song was first published in a magazine named Tatvabodhini in 1912 with the title “Bharat Vidhata”. Initially, there were five phases in the song, out of which only the first phase was accepted as the national anthem. 

The original Jana Gana Mana

Pc: The Deepak

The national anthem sung today is only the first verse of the original version. The original song is a Brahmo hymn that features ‘five’ verses in Sanskrit Bengali, representing the country’s fight for democracy, history, and values. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose honored the song by the name “Jaya Hey” and accepted it as an anthem for his Azad hind fauj army.

The controversy of the National Anthem

The history of India’s national anthem has always been controversial. The major controversy still ongoing is that the first phases which are “Jana Gana mana Adhinayak” were composed as sycophancy to George V  and are translated as the leader of people, and their minds. This controversy was once settled in 1937 when Tagore in his letter to Pulin

Bihari Sen stated that “neither the fifth, nor the sixth, nor any George could be the maker of human destiny through the ages. I had hailed in the song Jana Gana Mana that dispenser of India’s destiny who guides, through all rise and fall, the wayfarer, he who shows the people the way”. 

Conclusion

Though the long journey of the National anthem was not smooth but even after a hundred years whenever it is sung in chorus, it Sinks with the heartbeats of billions of Indians and is respected by the whole world. The biggest gem of the Nation, Our National Anthem The “Jana Gana Mana”. 

By Aditi Gupta 

***The information in this article does not necessarily reflect the views of The Global Hues. We are not responsible and do not verify for accuracy of any of the information contained in this article***

Also Read:

• National Children’s Day In India | Why Do We Celebrate It?
• IIT Kharagpur Successfully Completes The Nationwide Prelims Of Spring Fest
• Spring Fest’s Hitch Hike Nation Wide Prelims: A Journey Of Talent Across 12 Cities
• Will ‘One Nation, One Election’ Transform Indian Politics?
• Eureka! – E-Cell IIT Bombay’s Annual Flagship B-Model Competition Goes International